Commentaire sur Zacharie 9:20

In the land of Hadrach R’ Judah the son of Ilai expounded: This is the Messiah, who is sharp against the nations and soft to Israel. R’ Yose the son of a Damascene mother said to him [to Judah the son of Ilai]: “Judah, our master, how long will you pervert the verses for us? I call heaven and earth to testify for me, that I am from Damascus, and there is a place named Hadrach. [Rabbi Yose continued:] Now how do I explain: ‘And Damascus is His resting place?’” That Jerusalem is destined to reach as far as Damascus. ‘His resting place’ means only Jerusalem, as it is said: (Psalms 132:14) “This is My resting place to eternity.” He said to him [i.e. R’ Judah to R’ Yose]: “Now how do I explain (Jer. 30: 18) ‘And the city shall be built on its mound?’” He replied: “That it is not destined to move from its place.” So was the baraitha taught in Sifre (Deut. 1:1).

for man’s eye shall be to the Lord For on that day man will turn to his Maker, and his eyes will see the Holy One, blessed be He, as [the prophet] states above: Let us go with you. And they and their cities will join the cities of Israel.

and all the tribes of Israel They are regarded by God above all the nations. Similarly, Scripture states (I Kings 11: 1): “King Solomon loved many foreign women and the daughter of Pharaoh.” Now, was the daughter of Pharaoh not included in the generalization? But the daughter of Pharaoh was as dear to him as all of them. Here, too, all the nations shall belong to the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel is equal to all of them.

And also Hamath shall border thereon Its border shall reach the border of Jerusalem

Tyre and Sidon They, too, shall be its [Jerusalem’s] villages, although it has become exceedingly wise. She [Tyre] became exceedingly wise and thought to be forever a mistress with her wisdom.

And Tyre built a fortification for herself and [Tyre] says, “Who will bring me down to earth?”

and she gathered silver like dust and boasts of her wealth.

and gold a certain appearance of gold.

Behold, the Lord Who is the ruler over all.

shall impoverish her an expression similar to (I Sam. 2: 7) “impoverishes and makes rich.”

He shall smite her wealth in the sea And shall cause her wealth to be swallowed in the midst of the seas. He shall cause the sea to rise over it and sink it, as Ezekiel said (27).

Ashkelon shall see the downfall of Tyre and fear.

and Ekron too, shall fear.

for the one to whom she looked was ashamed For [Ashkelon] relied on Tyre, which was the head of the sons of Esau, and Ekron, too, belonged to Edom, as our Sages said in tractate Megillah (6a): “Ekron shall be uprooted (Zeph. 2:4).” This is Caesarea, which belongs to Edom, and it originally belonged to the Philistines.

And the strangers shall dwell in Ashdod And a strange people shall dwell in Ashdod. Those are the Israelites, who were strange in it.

And I will remove his blood from his mouth From the mouth of Esau. This is their house of Bamia [one of Edom’s principal deities (Rashi to Megillah 6a)], where they would sprinkle the blood of their sacrifices. Others interpret this to mean the bloodshed, that the [Edomites] would shed the blood of Israel.

and it, too, shall remain to our God These are the synagogues and the studyhalls in our exile.

and it shall be like a study hall in Judah These are their theaters and circuses, where the princes of Judah are destined to teach Torah in public.

and it shall be like a study hall an expression of study and learning.

and Ekron shall be to Israel.

like Jebusi Jerusalem.

And I will encamp beside My house against a garrison I will encamp beside My house to protect it from those who set up a garrison and raiders, that they should not set these up against it. A similar word is used in (Isa. 29:7) “and all those stationed around her, and those who trap her.” It is also possible to interpret מִצָבָה as מִצָבָא, with an ‘alef’ [meaning against a host].

for now I have seen with My eyes Now I have seen their distress with My eyes, although until now I have hidden My countenance from them.

Behold! Your king shall come to you It is impossible to interpret this except as referring to the King Messiah, as it is stated: “and his rule shall be from sea to sea.” We do not find that Israel had such a ruler during the days of the Second Temple.

just and victorious saved by the Lord.

and riding a donkey This is a symbol of humility.

and a foal of she-donkeys as in (Gen. 32:16) “and ten foals.”

And I will cut off the chariots for they will not need them.

and his rule וּמָשְׁלוֹ

from the sea to the west From its sea to the west, to the end of the world.

and from the river The Euphrates.

You, too shall be saved with him, as he is just and victorious. For with the blood of your covenant, I prophesied for you for the future; and for now, too, from the Babylonian exile in which you are now found.

with the blood of your covenant With the merit of the blood of the covenant that was sprinkled upon you at Sinai, as it is written (Exod. 24:8): “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made.”

I have freed your prisoners from the exile.

Return to the stronghold To your strength and to your glory, even though you are now under the rule of the kings of Persia. you prisoners of hope who hoped for Me until now that My words [would] be fulfilled at the end of seventy years.

Also today, I will restore to you a double promise Today I will yet tell you second tidings, besides those of the building. And what is the second narrative that I am returning to repeat to you?

For I bend Judah for Me Eventually, the Greeks will wrest the kingdom from the Persian kings and inflict harm upon you, and I will bend Judah to be a war bow for me; and Judah will wage war against the Greeks in the days of the Hasmoneans.

like a bow; I filled [the hand of] Ephraim – This is describing the war of Yehudah in the time of the Hasmoneans, because yehudah is the bow in the hand of Gd and Gd draws him. Because even though there was a miraculous element to this war, nevertheless the war itself was in a natural fashion. It was as if Gd shot His arrows from a distance by means of the bow who is Yehudah, drawn to fire into the heart of the Greeks. About this it says ‘and I will arouse your children, O Zion’ because Gd aroused and strengthened their hearts for war. It also describes the future war of Ephraim, because they are like the sword of the mighty warrior in the hand of Gd, which kills up close. About this it says ‘I will make you as the sword of a mighty man,’ and the drawing of the bow is given to Ephraim hims, as it says ‘like a bow I filled…’

a bow; I filled [the hand of] Ephraim This is an elliptical verse: Like a bow, I filled the hand of Ephraim; as (II Kings 9:24), “And Jehu put all his strength into his bow.” Ephraim shall be as a quiver full of arrows to Me.

and I will arouse your children, O Zion The children of Zion on the children of Javan.

And the Lord shall appear over them In the book of Josippon (chap. 18), we find that at that time a sign appeared to the people of Jerusalem.

shall sound the shofar He shall thunder.

and He shall go with the whirlwinds of the south To storm the people of the south; they are the Greeks. And some of our Sages interpreted [the phrase] as referring to Edom in the future.

and they shall devour the spoils of their enemies.

and they shall tread under them sling-stones They are the Greeks, who are trained to use the bow and to sling stones.

They shall make a noise like [those who drink] wine They shall make noise with a voice of joy and happiness, as those who have drunk much wine make noise.

and they shall become full Their souls shall become full of all good.

like the basin that is full of blood. before the altar.

like the corners of the altar where wine is libated. The wine would flow upon it, as we learned in tractate Sukkah (49b). This is an expression of satiety, an expression of drunkenness.

like the flocks of His people Like the flocks that He caused to travel from Egypt to become His people.

for crown stones are exalted on His land For the priests, the sons of the Hasmoneans, who boast of the crown stones in the rows of the breast-plate and the ephod, will be exalted with miracles on their land.

For how How great is the goodness laid out for that generation.

Corn... young men Whch gives strength to young men.

and new wine Which causes maids to speak in song and joy. Others interpret יְנוֹבֵב [as that] which will be fruitful and grow in virgin soil, which is superior wine.